Ghana’s total public debt rose by GH¢42.7 billion in the first quarter of 2025, reaching GH¢769.4 billion by the end of March, according to the Bank of Ghana’s May 2025 Summary of Financial and Economic Data.
In January and February, the debt stood at GH¢752.1 billion and GH¢768.1 billion, respectively.
In U.S. dollar terms, the total debt stock was estimated at $49.5 billion in March, which is slightly above the $49.4 billion recorded in December 2024. The debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 55%, a slight decline attributed to an expansion in the size of the economy.
The report revealed that external debt rose marginally to $28.5 billion in March 2025 from $28.3 billion in December 2024, representing 28.5% of GDP. The increase in overall debt was largely driven by the depreciation of the cedi during the period.
Meanwhile, domestic debt increased to GH¢326.9 billion in March, up from GH¢309.5 billion in December 2024, accounting for 23.4% of GDP. January and February figures were GH¢320.1 billion and GH¢328.0 billion, respectively.
On the fiscal front, the government recorded a fiscal deficit of 1.0% of GDP in March 2025, reflecting restrained spending.
However, the primary balance posted a surplus of 0.3% of GDP, signaling some improvement in government fiscal management.
The report also placed Ghana’s total economic output at GH¢1.4 trillion as of March 2025.
